Errol Spence doesn’t want a tune-up, targeting Pacquiao, Crawford and Danny Garcia

By Boxing News - 06/01/2020 - Comments

By Allan Fox: Errol Spence Jr. says he’s a “shark,” and he doesn’t need a tune-up before he fights in October or November against Danny Garcia or Manny Pacquiao on Fox pay-per-view.

In an interview with Brian Custer on Monday, IBF/WBC welterweight champion Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) says his goal is to fight these three fighters:

  • Danny Garcia
  • Manny Pacquiao
  • Terence Crawford

Spence, 29, also says he wants to prove his many doubters wrong, who mistakenly believe that he won’t be able to come back 100% from his car crash last October. The doubters motivate Spence, and he wants to show them that they’re judging him wrong.

Errol is resisting the notation that he should take at least one tune-up fight to make sure that he’s firing on all eight cylinders after terrible car crash of his Ferrari Spider last October in Texas.

Image: Errol Spence doesn't want a tune-up, targeting Pacquiao, Crawford and Danny Garcia

Spence wants to prove doubters wrong

“I want to fight in October or November,” said Spence to the Last Stand Podcast with Brian Custer. “A lot of people are saying ‘he’s not going to come back the same’ or ‘That car accident messed him up. He can’t come back 100%.’ That puts a lot of gas in my tank. I’ve been training, and I’ve been running,” said Spence.

For Spence to prove his doubters wrong, he’s going to need to fight Terence Crawford or Manny Pacquiao and beat them. Other than that, the fans are going to continue to doubt Spence.

A rematch with Shawn Porter would be a good idea for Spence because he could prove his doubters wrong by beating him in a certain way. Fighting Keith Thurman or Yordenis Ugas would be a good idea as well for Spence.

Errol’s decision to target the 31-year-old Danny Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) is considered a tune-up level fight in the eyes of some boxing fans. Whether Spence wants to admit it or not, Danny is starting to look like a shot fighter. He struggled in his last fight against Ivan Redkach on January 25.

Garcia couldn’t stop Redkach, and he took a lot of shots. In 2018, Shawn Porter beat Danny by a 12 round decision. The year before that, Keith Thurman Garcia his first career defeat in beating him by a 12 round split decision.

Errol wants Danny Garcia or Pacquiao on pay-per-view

“I think my next fight will be on pay-per-view again,” said Spence. “The more realistic [next opponent] is probably Danny Garcia or Pacquiao because I was supposed to fight before my accident against Danny Garcia in January.

“After my accident, he fought [Ivan] Redkach.  I’m not going to take a tune-up. I already told Al [Haymon] that I don’t need a tune-up at all. I understand the concept that you want to get your feet wet, but I get my feet wet with the top guys.

“That’s 2021, but that’s not going to be my next fight,” said Spence on Terence Crawford. “I don’t see it going past 2021. I don’t want to leave 147 without fighting Terence Crawford. It’ll definitely happen but it’s just a matter of when.

“I want Pacquiao before he retires, Crawford and Danny Garcia,” said Spence.

Fighting Danny Garcia on FOX pay-perv-view could bring in poor numbers or Spence. Hopefully, Spence and his management take a good look at the economy in the U.S right now before they decide to face Garcia on pay-per-view. It’s not a fight that would do well on pay-per-view, even during a booming economy.

But with 40 million+ people unemployed now in the United States, it would be a wrong-headed idea to sell Spence vs. Garcia on PPV right now. If Spence is going to fight on pay-per-view, it’s got to be Pacquiao or Crawford. The rest of the welterweights aren’t popular enough for Spence to fight them on PPV right now.

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